Tag Archives: dream

She did What!?! ~ with Christine Part 2

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Single Woman Travels! (SWT) is a place to inspire and motivate women (and men) around the world to travel. She did What?! is a monthly series of Q&A – asking women around the world to share their past travel experience. From this, I hope a few more women who are on the brink of expanding their world will be inspired and motivated to turn their dreams into reality.

Bio…    Christine Belanger or @chomba on Twitter. I am a Graphic Designer living in Toronto, Canada.

SWT:    Where was the destination of your second solo trip?

CB:        Belize and Guatemala.

SWT:    How old were you?

CB:        28

SWT:    Were you single or attached at the time?

CB:        Single

SWT:    What inspired the idea?

CB:        I love to volunteer travel, and I signed up for 10 days of volunteering in a small Mayan village in the mountains of Guatemala. The flight prices surprised me when I was looking to fly to Guatemala around Christmas. I found a much cheaper flight to Belize and decided to travel down and see many sites along the way.

SWT:    What was your trip style? (backpack, tour group, comfort, meetup with family/friends)

CB:        Backpack. (My first time backpacking.)

SWT:    What type of accommodations? (family owned, B&B, tents, if a hotel, how many stars)

CB:        Single rooms in hostels and cheap hotels. (Accommodations were quite inexpensive in Central America) When I was with the volunteer group, we stayed with local families.

SWT:    How long was your trip?

CB:        24 days

SWT:    Who looked after the logistics?

CB:        I did.

SWT:    If you planned and/or booked the itinerary, did you enjoy the process?

CB:        With my trusted companion of “Central America on a Shoestring”, the entire planning process became incredibly exciting! There wasn’t the time to do everything I wanted!!

SWT:    If you worked with a travel agent, how was the experience?

CB:        N/A

SWT:    Would you / have you booked subsequent trips yourself?

CB:        N/A

SWT:    What would you do different – in hindsight?

CB:        I wouldn’t have traveled over the Christmas holiday. Flights are much more expensive and traveling the day before, and on Christmas day can be dangerous in a third world country.

SWT:    Did you feel comfortable traveling solo?

CB:        Yes and no. Other people who worried for me prior to me leaving made me even more nervous. But when you’re backpacking, and staying at the hostels, you attract travel buddies. It is amazing how fast you buddy up and connect with fellow travelers. You are hardly ever really traveling alone. Luckily I chose single rooms in hostels, and being in backpacker-like hostels made it easier to meet fellow travelers in the common areas.

SWT:    How much research did you do in advance?

CB:        I did as much as possible and the book helped a lot. I also asked friends who were from there, traveled there, and other backpackers: What do I wear to look like the locals? What are the rules on tipping? What’s the best way to pack when you’re backpacking? etc.

SWT:    What was the biggest surprise on the trip?

CB:        In Belize: How safe some of the coastal cities were. Guatemala: How everyone is curious about you (as a foreigner) and wants to try to speak to you even though you have minimal Spanish. They want to know everything possible about your foreign country, what you think of their country, etc.

SWT:    What did you learn about yourself during the trip that you weren’t totally aware of beforehand?

CB:        Most of my learning came from the volunteer portion. That is another experience unto itself. The local experience was really the best part.

SWT:    Was there any close calls or run-ins?

CB:        I had an overnight bus that broke down. Although a fancy bus, the situation made me a little nervous. I’ll avoid overnight buses from now on.

SWT:    Where is your next dream destination?

CB:        Teaching Buddhist monks English in Laos 🙂

Next time, we’ll hear from Doris who chose to travel on her own…

If you’d like to share your story, contact me! 🙂

She did What!?! ~ with Kristine

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Single Woman Travels! (SWT) is a place to inspire and motivate women (and men) around the world to travel. She did What?! is a monthly series of Q&A – asking women around the world to share their past travel experience. From this, I hope a few more women who are on the brink of expanding their world will be inspired and motivated to turn their dreams into reality.

Bio…    Kristine Apostol, Toronto, Canada

SWT:    Where was the destination of your first solo trip?

KA:        California in 2008

SWT:    How old were you?

KA:        29

SWT:    Were you single or attached at the time?

DC:        Married, so I usually go with my husband, but this time I went alone to visit family.

SWT:    What inspired the idea?

KA:        Fun times with family that I haven’t seen and a getaway! I was in a career transition.

SWT:    What was your trip style? (backpack, tour group, comfort, meetup with family/friends)

KA:        Meetup with family/friends.

SWT:    What type of accommodations? (family owned, B&B, tents, if a hotel, how many stars)

KA:        Family-owned.

SWT:    How long was your trip?

KA:        2 weeks

SWT:    Who looked after the logistics?

KA:        Me…

SWT:    If you planned and/or booked the itinerary, did you enjoy the process?

KA:        Yes, definitely. I like planning.

SWT:    If you worked with a travel agent, how was the experience?

KA:        N/A

SWT:    Would you / have you booked subsequent trips yourself?

KA:        Yes this one, but usually my husband does.

SWT:    What would you do different – in hindsight?

KA:        Research more on California and see where I want to go and sights I’d like to see… I just depended on family to take me places… which was still nice.

SWT:    Did you feel comfortable traveling solo?

KA:        Yes, no big deal.

SWT:    How much research did you do in advance?

KA:        Not much.

SWT:    What was the biggest surprise on the trip?

KA:        How much I missed my husband… I never went away solo before except for work trips, but this was different.

SWT:    What did you learn about yourself during the trip that you weren’t totally aware of beforehand?

KA:        That I can go alone… and much needed time for myself.

SWT:    Was there any close calls or run-ins?

KA:        Not really, except when family issues were brought up with other family members that I did not really want to do on my vacation.

SWT:    Where is your next dream destination?

KA:        Europe, Fiji, Spain… and Bahamas is one of my favourites – a feel good vacation – can’t wait to go with my family.

Next time, we’ll hear from Rhona who chose to travel on her own…

If you’d like to share your story, contact me! 🙂

She did What!?! ~ with Bellarock

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Single Woman Travels! (SWT) is a place to inspire and motivate women (and men) around the world to travel. She did What?! is a monthly series of Q&A – asking women around the world to share their past travel experience. From this, I hope a few more women who are on the brink of expanding their world will be inspired and motivated to turn their dreams into reality.

Bio…    Bellarock

SWT:    Where was the destination of your first solo trip?

B:        Solo enough I guess without family – California on a student exchange for a month… Also left Australia to live in the UK at the age of 22 – did that one alone!

SWT:    How old were you?

B:        I was 16

SWT:    Were you single or attached at the time?

B:        NOPE!

SWT:    What inspired the idea?

B:        Small town girl… looking for big things.

SWT:    What was your trip style? (backpack, tour group, comfort, meetup with family/friends)

B:        I was in a group with about 20 other kids from all around Australia – the same age.

SWT:    What type of accommodations? (family owned, B&B, tents, if a hotel, how many stars)

B:        I stayed with a host family.

SWT:    How long was your trip?

B:        A month

SWT:    Who looked after the logistics?

B:        EF Foundation.

SWT:    If you planned and/or booked the itinerary, did you enjoy the process?

B:        I do all that stuff now… Yeah, but that’s kind of my job. 🙂

SWT:    If you worked with a travel agent, how was the experience?

B:        Annoying… you’re not a priority… they have many many other clients

SWT:    Would you / have you booked subsequent trips yourself?

B:        Yeppers

SWT:    What would you do different – in hindsight?

B:        Not a lot… Research and asking friends, family, strangers advice.

SWT:    Did you feel comfortable traveling solo?

B:        I always seem to – but the road sometimes feels more lonely than unsafe.

SWT:    How much research did you do in advance?

B:        Lots.

SWT:    What was the biggest surprise on the trip?

B:        Too many to count… but running into people you know in the most random places.. it’s happened so many times for me on public transport.

SWT:    What did you learn about yourself during the trip that you weren’t totally aware of beforehand?

B:        How resilient I am, adventurous, brave and independent I can be.

SWT:    Was there any close calls or run-ins?

B:        Depends on what close calls or run ins you’re talking about…

SWT:    Where is your next dream destination?

B:        Iceland or a road trip around the USA

Next time, we’ll hear from Kristine who chose to travel on her own…

If you’d like to share your story, contact me! 🙂